Emily Gregory’s victory in a district previously held by Republicans was the latest upset for Democrats before November’s midterm elections.
Published March 25, 2026
In the latest sign of growing tensions in President Trump’s Republican Party, Democratic candidate Emily Gregory is expected to win a special election for a Florida House seat that includes President Donald Trump’s resort town, Mar-a-Lago.
With nearly all votes in Tuesday’s election counted, Mr. Gregory had a 2.4 percentage point lead over his opponent, John Maples, who is supported by Mr. Trump, the Associated Press reported.
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Democrats hailed the victory in the previously Republican-held 87th House District as a sign that voters are turning away from Republicans and Trump ahead of November’s midterm elections. In the November 2025 gubernatorial and mayoral elections, the Democratic Party recorded a record number of votes, and the cost of living was cited as a major concern.
The US decision to join Israel in attacking Iran has caused oil and gas prices to soar, putting further inflationary pressure on Americans.
“If Mar-a-Lago is vulnerable, imagine what could happen this November,” said Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee Chair Heather Williams. He said Tuesday’s races are the 29 seats where Democrats have flipped from Republican control since President Trump took office.
“Gasoline prices are going up, grocery costs are going up, families are not getting by, and it’s clear that voters at the polls are fed up with Republicans,” Williams said.
Gregory grew up north of Palm Beach in Stuart. She owns a fitness company that caters to pregnant and postpartum women, but has never run for office.
Speaking to MSNOW after her win, she said she was “pretty shocked” and “had quite an out-of-body experience.”
Mr. Gregory’s victory is the latest in a series of improbable special election results across the country since President Trump returned to the White House more than a year ago, including several notable Democratic victories in Republican-controlled Florida.
In December, Eileen Higgins won the Miami mayoral race, marking the first time in nearly 30 years that a Democrat has led the city. She defeated a Trump-supporting Republican with a campaign that heavily focused on criticizing the president’s immigration crackdown, but her message resonated with the city’s large Hispanic population.
Farther west in Texas, Democrat Taylor Lehmet firmly flipped a Republican state Senate district in a special election in January.
President Trump immediately distanced himself from his defeat in the district, which he won by 17 points in 2024 despite supporting the Republican candidate, saying, “I had no part in it.”
Trump, whose official residence is Mar-a-Lago, cast a mail-in ballot in Tuesday’s election, according to Palm Beach County voter records. He chose to vote by mail even though he publicly blamed voting methods for fraud and urged Congress to reduce them.
